Field of the Disclosure
Aspects of the disclosure relate generally to wireless communication, and more specifically, but not exclusively, to communication via a relay link.
Description of Related Art
In some types of wireless communication networks, an access terminal such as a user equipment (UE) communicates with one or more network base stations. In some scenarios, different base stations may use different radio access technologies (RATs). The term RAT refers to the physical connection for a radio-based communication network. Examples of different RATs include, without limitation, third generation partnership project (3GPP) technologies (e.g., third generation technology (3G), fourth generation technology (3G), and fifth generation technology (5G)), millimeter wave (mmW) technology, Bluetooth technology, and Wi-Fi technology. In a millimeter wave (mmW) system, multiple antennas are used for beamforming (e.g., in the range of 30 GHz, 60 GHz, etc.).
Typically, different RATs have different capabilities. For example, a UE may have the capability to access both a long term evolution (LTE) network and a millimeter wavelength (mmW) network. The downlink/uplink (DL/UL) access link between an LTE base station and the UE is typically more reliable than the access link between a mmW base station and the UE. However, the LTE link typically has lower capacity than the mmW link.